Sunday, February 24, 2013

my baby's six months. let's talk about me.

oh boy, i really need to do an elliot update.  and i SWORE i wouldn't be one of those people who let their second kid get the shaft in the pictures/blog updates/baby book department.  and here we are... update-less since four months.  trust me, the kid is doing some cute stuff & showing us his personality more & more every single day.  i really need to write this stuff down.  and the same goes for parker.  he's wicked smart!  letters, numbers, jokes... he amazes me with his wit & knowledge.

but right now?  i'm gonna give you a little six month post-baby update about myself.  

when i was near the end of my pregnancy with elliot i often got the "are you ready?" question.  of course i wasn't ready!  you never know what you're in for with this kind of thing until you're in it... just like how it was with your first.  you just don't know until it happens.  so when people asked me if i was ready, i told them i was at least ready for the chaos that was inevitably coming & to be in a fog for six months.  and that's how i've felt... foggy.  tired & making it through the weeks one day at a time, making it through the days, one hour at a time, just trying to survive til bedtime.  

in the last six months, i managed to get in some scattered work outs, i've added a couple of pieces to my wardrobe, i've lost some of the baby weight & i've booked & shot quite a few sessions with my biz.  but through it all?  foggy.  tired, worn out, stretched thin & still just not myself.  but that's ok!  it's exactly what i told myself to expect for the first six months.  whenever i got frustrated or like i should be doing more i would say, "amy, you have a four month old... give yourself a break."  and then promise myself at six months i'd start to piece myself back together.  

so here we are... six months.  i am SO ready to be myself again.  to get my body back, to have energy again, to wear cute clothes on occasion, to curl my hair every now & then, to plan & cook healthy meals, to be creative... to come out of the newborn-mom fog.  can it be done?  call me selfish but for my own sanity, i need it to happen.  and trust me, if i'm happy?  my boys will be much, much happier.  all three of them.

so how do i plan on making this happen?  i need tangible goals to keep me going & help me measure my progress.  here are some of those goals:

--> register for the Capitol City Marathon & run 2-3x a week.  i'm not crazy though, i'm not doing the marathon.  there is a 5 mile run & a half marathon... i haven't decided which one i'm doing yet.

--> STOP EATING SO MUCH CRAP.  seriously, my sweet tooth is out of control.  and with nursing it's been so easy to just say to heck with it & eat whatever i want.  well, i gave myself a six month pass & it ends now.  so.  no more.  i'll eat a little something sweet after lunch & dinner (think reese's miniature or hunk of cookie dough) and that's it.  plus one full-on dessert, once a week.  period!

--> go to bed!  this is probably one of the biggest sources of all my problems.  i'm so freaking tired!  but for so much of it, i only have myself to blame for staying up so late... especially now that elliot only wakes up once or twice a night.  so i am going to be in bed every night this week no later than midnight.  bonus points for bed at 11:30... which means i need to wrap this post up in like, two minutes.

--> get dressed in a real outfit at least one day a week other than sunday.  i always get dressed up on sundays for church but all the other days pretty much consist of work out clothes, pj's or just jeans & a hoodie (my errands go-to outfit).  i'd like to put a little thought into an outfit at least one extra time... and that will remind me that my clothes don't really fit me the way i like them to right now, which is probably why i wear all that other comfy stuff.  but i guess that's the point of all of this now, isn't it?

ok, that seems like enough to start.  i'm excited!  getting to the six months mark is a big deal.  my baby is half way to his first birthday & we've survived the newborn stuff.  i'm so excited to be at this point!  and i'm so excited to finally be doing something to feel like my old self again.

let's do this.


18 comments:

  1. I've got the same sweet tooth and the same goal of only a tiny bit per day and desert once a week. And then I saw that they've started selling Cadbury eggs....... Good luck! I hope you've got more willpower than I do!

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  2. Thanks for posting this. I've got a little girl Parker's age and a 9 month old, and I could have written this post. I'm also trying to take better care of myself...I even went for a 3 mile run this morning!

    You're doing a great job!

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  3. I think it's so easy to get lost, and not get back on track. You've got two kids, hobbies, ambitions, what's lacking is time, and sleep (I don't know if we ever get those back), but it's imperative to make goals and time for yourself. My husband and I went on a date, the first in like 4 months, without me time, you can't have happy we time, and everything just seems like a strain. Good luck with all your goals!!

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  4. yes! Love this! Our boys were born on the same day and I am finally feeling like myself too. I am back to boot camp (mommy boot camp) twice a week and signed up for the half in June. Been making meals and cleaning and have lost all but 10 baby pounds so I get to wear jeans now!
    Here's to feeling like ourselves again!

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  5. those are great goals! go you! i had to finally cut sweets all the way out - it was so bad, luckily i got over it pretty fast and have already shed a ton of the weight i was holding onto!

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  6. I'm with you! Except Tindra is 10 months.. So.. :)

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  7. WAHOO!! Go momma! Love your goals and your plan to get there! I'm already chomping at the bit to get back to "me" and baby isn't even here yet.

    You're gonna do awesome! Let me know if you need any additional motivation! I'm always here to help!

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  8. I know how you're feeling mama. But, I'm being hard on myself at only 3 months into this two kid gig. We're going home on vacation at the 6 month mark, so I'm excited to come back rested, rejuvenated and ready to figure out how to be ME again with two kids. Yay for getting back to running! I'm looking forward to your fitness posts again! :)

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  9. Awesome goal setting! Six months really is a good turning point. I'm good on the getting dressed and curling my hair, but the workouts...damn...I have to do SOMETHING in this department. My 2nd is 18 months old. I think it's waaaaaay past time to get back to it!

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  10. I need to get my self in this mindset of giving myself 6 months instead of laying the pressure on like I know I will. Congrats on making it thru the first 6 months and good luck on Operation Amy!

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  11. Girl, it's hard. It just is. I hate saying this but Brigham's first year was one of THE hardest years of my life. Everyone says adding a second child is easy but it throws off your entire routine and it took me awhile to get used to it. Now a big part of that is because he was sick his entire first year. But still. I really didn't feel like myself because I was so.damn.tired all the time. Nursing adds to it. It is such a privilege but your body is just not yours, ya know? Anyway, I wish you luck with your goals. I finally gave up during that first year and didn't set any! Ha! At one year we hit our stride.

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  12. Go Amy! Sometimes writing it all out helps to keep you motivated and committed to your goals but don't be too hard on yourself. You are doing GREAT!

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  13. Go mama! You can do it. I love this list of goals. Way to spell it out for yourself. We all need to get our sweet tooths under control every once in a while, I think :) I cannot wait for the day when I have another little one, but I am also terrified of going crazy. I think you're doing wonderfully. xo

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  14. Way to go! Both in giving yourself a break for 6 months to just let yourself be tired and also for stepping out of the fog and setting goals! I'll be hitting my 6-month mark right around Christmas time, so I know I'll be setting some major new years goals next January. You can help me figure out what they should be. :)

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  15. Those are awesome goals! Depending on when the race is, I say go for the half!

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  17. all excellent goals! I think I'll join you. . . . in 3 months when MY baby hits 6 months and I'm crawling out of the fog. haha!

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  18. I love this!!! I'm at the 4 month mark feeling like a slacker, but still IN the newborn phase-ish. This post is huge motivation for me and wicked tangible goals!!!! Thank you! And good luck...hope it is going well so far! :-)

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